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Halas Intrigue
The Bears have been here before in their search for a quarterback — Jay Cutler, Mitch Trubisky, Justin Fields — and have found only disappointment. But Williams not only is a cut above as a prospect, the Bears are set up for him to succeed where others failed.
“My last goal is immortality,” Williams said two hours after the Bears made him their first-ever No. 1 overall pick at quarterback. “The only way to reach that is winning championships.
The vision laid out by the Bears on Wednesday included detailed renderings of Museum Campus upgrades, including the conversion of Soldier Field to public parkland. But all that work would be paid for by taxpayers, not the team.
In exchange for billions of dollars in public money, the public deserves an ownership stake in the franchises.
The city is willing to put private interests ahead of public benefit and cheer on a wrongheaded effort to build a massive domed stadium — that would be perfect for Arlington Heights — on Chicago’s lakefront.
The Sun-Times’ experts pick whom they think the team will take with the No. 9 pick in Thursday night’s draft.
The traditional TV broadcasts will be heavy on the Bears, who own the first and ninth picks of the first round. They’ll be on the clock at 7 p.m.
Does the USC quarterback have the “it” factor that makes everyone around him better and tilts the field in his favor in crunch time? There’s no doubt Poles sees something special in Williams.
It’s unclear if Odunze, who led FCS receivers with 1,640 receiving yards last season, will be available at No. 9. He’s one of a trio of receivers — alongside Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and LSU’s Malik Nabers — expected to be picked in the top 10.
The USC quarterback, whom the Bears are expected to pick first in the NFL draft here on Thursday night, was clear that he’s prepared to play in cold temperatures in the NFL.
If presumed No. 1 pick Caleb Williams is as good as advertised, Chicago won’t know what to do with itself.
The plans, according to the team, will include additional green and open space with access to the lakefront and the Museum Campus, which Bears President Kevin Warren called “the most attractive footprint in the world.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker brushed aside the latest proposal, which includes more than $2 billion in private funds but still requires taxpayer subsidies, saying it “isn’t one that I think the taxpayers are interested in getting engaged in.”
Fans said they liked the new amenities and features in the $4.7 billion stadium proposal unveiled Wednesday, although some worried the south lakefront could become even more congested than it is now.
Trades are likely, but unpredictable, so here’s a mock draft based on the order as it stands.
Two additional infrastructure phases that would “maximize the site” and bring “additional opportunities for publicly owned amenities” could bring taxpayers’ tab to $1.5 billion over about five years, according to the team.
The final project would turn the current Soldier Field site into a park-like area, but that wouldn’t necessitate playing home games elsewhere during construction.
Cunningham has worked for the Bears since 2022.
By pure circumstance, USC quarterback Caleb Williams was on the same flight to Detroit on Tuesday as Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze. Time will tell whether they’re on the same flight out of Detroit — and to Chicago — on Friday morning.